EMPIRES CHILDREN: THE PEOPLE OF TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



145 



eotyped form. The supplicant comes with a bot- 

 tle of caballito, pure alcohol in flavored soda 

 water, and drinks are had all around. Conver- 

 sation revolves about general subjects, and when 

 everybody appears to be in a good humor, the 

 supplicant broaches the proposition, in the hope 

 that the liquor will promote lenient terms. If 

 all goes well the terms will be agreed upon 

 and the contract drawn up. 



Visiting ethnologists were immediately rec- 

 ognized as easy touches. One night Car- 

 men, between trips from the kitchen, tipped us 

 off that Maria F. had come with the bottle and 

 was going to ask me for a loan, secured if neces- 

 sary, to help pay the expenses of son Isaac's 

 wedding. When we had finished eating, in came 

 both Maria and Isaac. The bottle was not in 

 evidence. Both expressed great pleasure at see- 

 ing us, which they did almost every day, and 

 we talked about their recent trip to Mexico City 

 and other things. Finally Maria came to the 

 point. She had two favors to ask us. First, she 

 hoped that we would be able to attend the Church 

 wedding, an impossibility for me since 1 had 

 planned a trip to Mexico City. 1 expressed 

 great sorrow at not being able to remain, but 

 explained that my plans had already been made, 

 and that Gabriel would attend and tell me all 

 about it. This unforeseen development some- 

 what upset Maria; accepting her invitation 

 would have placed me, even though only slight- 

 ly, in her debt. However, she forced the words 

 out and asked as her second favor if I could 

 loan her $50 to help with the wedding. I ex- 

 plained that one of the reasons I was returning 

 to Mexico City was that the members of the field 

 party were about out of money, and that we had 

 very little beyond that for our immediate needs. 



However, I agreed to loan $25, recognizing, 

 of course, that it would be a complete loss. This 

 wasn't as much as she had really expected, but 

 it was a help, particularly since I asked for no 

 security. Isaac slipped out for a moment and 

 presently returned with the bottle of caballito; 

 it was worth $1.50, and cautious Maria was not 

 going to expend it until sure the return on the 

 investment would be worth while. Having tried 

 caballito before and not liking it, I tried to make 

 a magnanimous gesture and suggested that I 

 leave it with Gabriel to deliver on the day of 

 the wedding to help fulfill obligations to the 

 guests. Maria, however, said that it would spoil, 



the fizz water would be flat, so there was nothing 

 to do but pour drinks all around. This little 

 episode diff"ered from customary practice in that 

 the bottle was produced after and not before the 

 request was made. 



A case history dealing with Vicente and Nati's 

 attempt to buy their own home sheds additional 

 light on the nature of credit dealings in Tzintzun- 

 tzan. They started married life with little beyond 

 a small milpa. For several years they rented 

 a house, and then to save money moved in with 

 Doiia Andrea. A year later one of Vicente's 

 brothers off^ered him free use of a house on the 

 land which he now owns; the brother had taken 

 it as security on a loan, and had no immediate 

 need for it himself. After a year the owner 

 came to Vicente and told him he would either 

 have to buy or move out. Vicente agreed that his 

 asking price of $250 was fair, but explained 

 that he didn't have that much money. "Well, 

 pay in installments, then," suggested the owner, 

 to which Vicente agreed. A formal document 

 was drawn up which stipulated that Vicente 

 would pay $100 in May 1939 (it was a month 

 before this time), and $50 more at the end 

 of each succeding 6-month period until the 

 total was paid. Several months before the final 

 payment was due the owner approached Vicente 

 for a part payment, to which Vicente reacted 

 by saying that the time had not yet come. "All 

 right, give me $15 now and you can delay the 

 balance for an additional year," offered the sell- 

 er. Vicente grabbed the opportunity. The owner, 

 it seems, had purchased an ox on the installment 

 plan, and in the contract it was stated that if 

 payments were not made on the stipulated dates 

 the seller would repossess the ox and the buyer 

 would be out any previous payments made. Thus, 

 to avoid a big loss the house seller was glad to 

 make a smaller concession. Buying property on 

 the installment plan is fairly common in Tzin- 

 tzuntzan, but beyond the fact that the terms are 

 carefully stated in a legal contract, little infor- 

 mation was obtained on this subject. 



PRICE DETERMINANTS 



Prices of most things of common use have 

 already been listed. Of theoretical interest are 

 the factors which determine prices. In general, 

 it may be stated that the price structure of Tzin- 

 tzuntzan is thoroughly integrated with that of 



